Patients Go Where They Want to Go with Wheelhouse Nurse Navigators

Wheelhouse patients are at the center of the company’s care, and this pillar of truth is evident in Wheelhouse’s commitment to hiring professional, quality Nurse Navigators.  The role of the Nurse Navigator is to have one-on-one contact with patients and offer resources and education regarding the patient’s treatment plan.

The Nurse Navigator acts as a liaison between the patient and members of the patient’s care team. Care teams are typically comprised of a Primary Care Physician (PCP), oncologist, hematologist, palliative care physician, pharmacist, behavioral medicine provider, and Nurse Navigator. At Wheelhouse, this team also includes a Cancer Coach.  Cancer coaching allows the patient to confidently communicate their emotions, convey their needs, and establish healthy boundaries with family and friends. They also help patients gain their confidence back because it often suffers from a cancer diagnosis.

The Nurse Navigators at Wheelhouse work closely with all of these professionals in an effort to create a continuum of care. While this team is ideal and in the best interest of the patient, the vastness of the team can be overwhelming to patients and that’s where the Wheelhouse Nurse Navigator comes in! If a change or problem occurs, it can be confusing to the patient to figure out which care team member to contact. For example, if the patient has a catheter inserted for chemotherapy and there is a problem, does the patient contact the PCP, the surgeon who placed the device, the surgery center where the device was placed, the oncologist who ordered the medication to be infused, or the pharmacy that delivered the medication? A Nurse Navigator takes control of the situation and contacts the appropriate party for the patient. They are the coordinating contact on behalf of the patient. This type of advocacy frees the patient from the time it takes to follow up with problems that may come up during treatment and the emotional decision-making that can be quite exhausting.

Nurse Navigators also outline patients’ diagnoses and their treatment options in easy-to-understand terminology. They have an in-depth knowledge of the medical field and the ability to give clear explanations to their patients. Nurse Navigators have a degree in nursing and a receipt of a nurse navigator certificate. Wheelhouse Navigation Program Director, Tammy Reideler, MSN, RN, OCN has spent over 25 years in nursing. She says, “I fell in love with oncology. I took to it like a duck to water. When patients get told they have cancer, as a nurse you see a very vulnerable side of them and to be part of their journey is a privilege. Working as a Nurse Navigator and being able to take some of their burden away from them is something that fills my heart.”

Tammy continues to describe how working in an acute care in-patient oncology floor helped prepare her for her role as a Nurse Navigator. She explains how critical it is for Nurse Navigators to understand how medical office settings, doctors’ offices, and hospitals all interact. She says, “I walk with patients from diagnosis to survivorship. My primary goal is to break down barriers to care. I want to make sure patients understand their diagnosis, provide them with good education, help them with a support system if they don’t have one, and offer resources in their community. Any way we can make their life easier and take things off their plate is definitely things we want to try and do for them. The needs of the patients are what comes first for us.” She continues to share that there are never enough community resources for cancer patients including grants, financial help, transportation, help with cleaning houses, babysitting so patients can go to chemo, etc. She explains that Nurse Navigators can’t always remove every single barrier simply because the resources aren’t always there.

Despite some challenges, Nurse Navigators like Tammy go above and beyond in caring for patients. Tammy shares, “I had a patient who was from Brazil. I wrote a letter to the United States Embassy in Brazil to advocate for my patient’s mother to travel under a travel ban so that she could be at her daughter’s bedside for her surgery and recovery. Thankfully they granted her permission and she’s doing fantastic! I’m really glad I could help. Cancer patients need support like that.” Ben Frank, CEO of Wheelhouse, agrees “Every team needs a quarterback and at the end of the day our navigators are leading the Wheelhouse team to best serve our patients.”

Nurse Navigation is a COC (Commission on Cancer) standard so in order for cancer centers to provide treatment, a nurse navigation program is required as part of their program. The job of Nurse Navigators that work for specific facilities includes retaining that patient in-house. Wheelhouse is different. Tammy explains, “What I like about Wheelhouse is that Wheelhouse can get the patient to any doctor where they want to go. Patients can source out to the physicians and facilities that they want for their treatment. Wheelhouse can work with all of them to provide the best match which gives the patient more freedom and control over their individual treatment. The Wheelhouse team follows the patient (not the provider or the payor) and that’s a really great thing!”